A Bridge of Silver Wings
by AngelsAndApplePies
Summary: Percy thought that after the Giant War, he would be able to live a normal life. Or at least, as normal of a life that a demigod could have. But then another war comes, and in the wake of it, Percy is left struggling under the weight of all he's been through. But when a new mission and a new family come along, Percy might be able to finally find the healing and acceptance he needs.


_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Heroes of Olympus, Marvel Comics, or the Marvel Cinematic Universe

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 **"A bridge of silver wings stretches from the dead ashes of an unforgiving nightmare to the jeweled vision of a life started anew"-Aberjhani**

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Hazel and Frank were dead.

And yes, it had been weeks, but that didn't make it hurt any less when Percy woke up in the middle of the night, screaming after reliving their deaths. It didn't make it hurt any less when he turned to tell them something and they weren't there, and never would be. It didn't make it hurt any less when Percy didn't remember when he first woke up and suddenly he did, and it felt like he couldn't breathe.

It had been weeks, but it still felt like he was drowning.

Annabeth was distant and preoccupied. Jason seemed anxious and unsure. Piper was worried. Leo was quiet. Even though they had survived the war, they had been the victors, it seemed that the real war was only just beginning. Percy thought that it would be a war of readjustment, of nightmares, of fear and of healing. He thought it would be the road to recovery.

At least, that was what he thought until that fateful day. The one where the five of them were summoned to Olympus, along with Hestia, Hades, Nico and the Huntresses, and they stood before the council. The one where Percy learned that even being a hero didn't make you safe among allies.

"Perseus Jackson has proved his strength and his power. But he is a demigod raised and bred for war. He is not meant for peace. He is a danger. He must die."

Everything had frozen with Zeus' announcement. It was silent, and all Percy had been able to hear was his own breathing, rough and uneven, and his heart racing. All he could think was, _oh gods no please not again._ And that had seemed to break the spell. The room exploded with noise and arguments. Percy couldn't think, couldn't breathe. Yes, Zeus had tried to kill him in the past but he thought that he had proven his loyalty to Olympus and the gods by now. Apparently he hadn't.

The throne room was a disaster. Gods and goddesses were arguing with each other. Even Hestia had joined the chaos. His friends were muttering back and forth with each other, trying to figure out what was going on. One of them was looking at him with worried eyes, but he wasn't sure who it was. All he knew was, it wasn't Annabeth. Percy was looking right at her, and all he could see was resignation and a hint of sorrow. No surprise, no righteous anger. And in that moment, he knew. She had known.

He looked at his friends. Thalia's blue eyes were narrowed, and she was fingering Aegis. She was pissed. Nico looked ready to summon an undead army. Piper looked surprised but worried. Leo was shocked. Jason...Jason had known. Like Annabeth, there was no surprise. But he looked more against it, more unsure. He wondered why they had known in the first place, but then figured it was probably Zeus and Athena's plan. Of course their favorite kids would know.

His musings had been cut short when he heard a familiar voice boom above all the rest.

"Brother, if you intend to go through with this, we will have a war on our hands."

After Poseidon's announcement, the room had been plunged back into silence. Percy ignored all the eyes on him, and just stared at his father. Poseidon was livid. His eyes were dark and stormy, and the sound of rushing water could be heard in the room. And while part of Percy couldn't believe that his father would declare over his life _(because really, what was the point? He would be dying in less than a century anyway)_ , looking at him now, Percy had no doubt that he would.

"You would commit treason against your king over a mere mortal?" Zeus had boomed, and the whole room, immortals and mortals alike, held their breath for Poseidon's response.

"Watch your words, Zeus. That is my son you speak of." Poseidon growled. "And yes, I would. He has proved his loyalty to Olympus. We could not have ended either of the last two wars without his help. And what thanks does my son get? He gets a death warrant. No, brother. If you wish to harm Perseus, you will have to go through me first. I do not care if I stand against you alone, but you will not kill him until you tear me to pieces and throw me into Tartarus."

"That can be arranged," Athena sneered, and Poseidon glared at her. Percy just stood watching the whole thing in shock. He knew that Poseidon and Athena didn't get along, and that she wasn't particularly fond of him either, but he had thought that being Annabeth's boyfriend would have counted for something. Apparently not.

"Then I suppose I stand against you all." Poseidon says without a hint of regret.

"Are you really so heartless as to forsake your family?" Hera asked disapprovingly, but before Poseidon could answer, dark laughter echoed throughout the Council Room.

"Is that not what you are trying to do my _dear_ sister? Make him abandon his son to be killed? But then again, some of you never _did_ understand what it meant to care for demigod children." Hades scoffed. He gave first Percy, and then Poseidon, a quick calculating glance, before nodding slightly and walking to stand beside Poseidon's throne. "I stand with you brother. I say it is time for the reign of the King of the Skies to end. Don't you?"

"I agree wholeheartedly." Poseidon said, also rising. The gods looked deep in thought. Percy just stood silently, ignoring the muttered whisperings of his friends and refusing to look at them.

"I will join my brothers." A soft but powerful voice spoke out. It was Hestia, and as she walked from the hearth to stand by Poseidon, she stopped briefly in front of Zeus. "I have warned you of your paranoia many times before. Now, it will be your downfall."

"I remain loyal to my father." Athena said strongly and proudly.

"Peter Johnson is nothing special. He may be a decent hero, yes, but all heroes must die eventually." Dionysius said in a bored tone. "Let him be killed, I don't care."

"The boy is loyal, kind, merciful and good. Something that cannot be said about you, _Father._ " Artemis said. "He does not deserve to die."

Percy's eyes popped open at that. Artemis may have voted for him to live last time, but this time, with war at stake, he had been sure that she would stand against him. Actually, he hadn't expected any of the gods to stand up for him...except for maybe his father.

"You have made many mistakes as of late, Father. This is just one of many. It is no wonder more demigods didn't end up helping Kronos." Hermes said with a sigh. "I will fight for my cousin's life as he has fought for all of ours."

"I will fight for my husband's throne." Hera declared.

"I will side with Zeus. With any luck, Hades will be thrown in Tartarus, I'll get my daughter back, and everyone will eat more cereal!" Demeter said with excitement.

Aphrodite and Ares looked at each other and then said in unison, "We fight for Zeus."

Apollo looked across the room and nodded. "I fight for Percy and Uncle P."

"As do I. There is no love lost between my parents and I." Hephaestus said, and with that, all of the gods who had allied with his dad went to one side of the room, while the rest went with Zeus to the other side. Then, they all simultaneously turned towards the demigods and huntresses.

"Percy is like my brother." Nico stepped forward. "I will not abandon him."

"I will fight for Percy." Thalia announced. "The fact that Lady Artemis has chosen to do so just confirms that I'm making the right choice."

All of the hunters stood next to Thalia, although some of them didn't seem happy about it. They all walked over to where Poseidon stood with his other allies. Zeus looked thunderously angry and, with a sigh Jason stepped forward.

"Percy I...if it was just over whether or not you would live or die I would side with you. But this is war, and its over who gets to be king." Jason rambled, before taking a deep breath. "And I have to side with my father and my patron."

"It's alright, bro." Percy said with a small smile, and it was. He understood. Percy would have done the same thing in his position. He walked over to Jason and held out his hand, and when Jason took it, he pulled him into a hug. "It was a pleasure fighting beside you Jason. Take care of yourself."

"You too, Perce." And with that, Jason walked over to stand with his father.

With her head held high, Annabeth stepped in front of the gods. Without wavering, Annabeth declared, "I will fight with my mother."

Percy felt like his world had dropped out from under him. A small part of him had been expecting that, but it didn't make him any more prepared for it. He had loved her, and he still did. But she had betrayed him. She began walking towards her mother without a second glance at him, but she stopped in her tracks when he said softly, "Why?"

"Why what?" She asked stiffly.

"Why are you doing this?" Percy asked her. He had to know. Why wasn't he good enough? She had gone against her mother before for him...what had changed?

"You're not the Percy I used to know." Annabeth said shortly. "You changed after _it_ happened, and again after Frank and Hazel's deaths. You broke. You're too scarred, too unstable, and I can't trust you to have my back anymore. Looking at it logically, you're a liability, not only to me, but to Olympus."

Percy stood in shock for a moment. Annabeth had picked his brain apart like he was a frog she was disecting in biology. He knew he should feel something, hurt, or anger, or pain, but he just felt numb. Numb to everything. There was just one thing he needed to know. "You told me you loved me in the heat of the moment twice before Tartarus. You said it once when we got out. Did you ever actually love me? Or was it a game to you? Date the most popular hero you could find and then break his heart when he wasn't needed anymore."

"I did love you once." Annabeth said. "But sometimes love isn't enough."

With that, she walked away, leaving Leo and Piper standing with Percy. Leo stepped forward first. "I...man this isn't easy to decide. Jason, you're my best friend...but I'm with Percy."

Jason nodded, and then looked to Piper, who was looking at the ground. Piper looked up at him and sighed before stating, "I side with Lord Zeus."

Percy felt a slight pang at this. Piper was caring and fun, and with everything that had been going on with Jason and Annabeth, the two of them had gotten a lot closer. He would miss her. She looked at him with tears in her eyes, and he just nodded tiredly. She ran towards him and hugged him. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay Pipes. I get it." He said.

She buried her face in his neck for a moment and whispered in his ear, "Dream of me, and I'll protect you."

Piper released him, and walked over to where Zeus and his allies were. Percy didn't outwardly react, but internally, he was trying to decipher Piper's message. His thoughts were interrupted by a throat being cleared. He looked up.

"You must declare a side, Perseus." His dad said gently.

"Seriously?" Percy asked. All the gods nodded their head. If it had been a normal day, he would have found something sarcastic to say, but instead he just said, "I stand by my father."

With that, Zeus and his dad both stepped forward and shook hands. They released hands, and as soon as Zeus rejoined his side, they all disappeared. When they did, Poseidon turned to all of them with a panicked look. "Okay, we must work fast."

"I don't understand." Percy said. "Why did they leave? Why do we have to hurry?"

"Wars are never fought on Olympus, since it is the center of our power. So since Zeus' palace is here, they need to go find somewhere to make their headquarters. It won't take them long, especially since they have Bird-Brain, so we don't have much time and we have a lot to do, so we'll have to split up. Percy, you need to come and help me, everyone else get what you need and then hurry to Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter. We'll meet you there." Poseidon said. He was about to flash out with Percy when Leo spoke up.

"Why are we going to the Camps?"

"Because if Zeus gets there first, he'll kill anyone who stands against him. Percy and I are going to create two buildings with a giant air bubble over them. Anyone who wishes to be protected or anyone who wishes to help in the war will be housed there."

"What about everyone else?" Nico asked. "Those who wish to disappear into the world, or join Zeus?"

"We let them." Poseidon said simply. "Being a tyrant is what got my brother into this mess. Demigods to have their own will, separate from what we wish of them. We will not force anyone to do anything. And that is why we will win."

Percy knew he should feel something, excitement, or fear, or nervousness, or confidence, but he just felt numb. And the numbness would give way to pain. He was still drowning, and he didn't see a way out of it. But he wasn't focused on any of that as his dad flashed him to Atlantis. He was still trying to figure out Piper's message.

 _Dream of me, and I'll protect you._


End file.
